by Zhuang Bifan
"…" Lin Li could not help but laugh at them from the distance. He did not intend to do anything to these people. Now that they fell into the hands of Aragon, they were going to suffer.
After seeing the group of men leave, Lin Li lit another Air Bomb scroll to open the mineral vein of the Abyss Fiendish Iron completely. Then, he opened the Ring of Endless Storm to keep all the ore.
Following that, he brought Sean towards the cave their map mentioned.
…
Aragon, on the other hand, reached the camp of the Silver Hand very quickly.
When he reached the camp, he handed the three captives to the guards, while he himself dashed to the tent of his captain.
After entering, Aragon saw Hank speaking to the captain.
If it were before, Aragon would wait until Hank finished talking. But, this time, he did not want to waste any time. As soon as he stepped into the tent, he interrupted Hank. "Captain Serena, are you free?"
"You have something to tell me?"
"Yes, Captain Serena. I must tell you something."
Serena frowned at Aragon's impatience. She knew this man very well. He had always been calm and reserved. When they got into danger in Blackhills Town, Aragon could remain composed and enter the inn. What could have happened that made him so anxious?
"You found someone you like?"
"…" Aragon was beyond speechless.
He really could not understand what was in the mind of his pretty captain. She had always been meticulous and astute in the management of work-related affairs. At times, however, she would say unusual things, such as asking if Thuzadin had his dinner…
Aragon drew a few breaths, and then raised his volume, saying, "Captain Serena, it's regarding the two of our guests!"
Once she heard that it concerned her two guests, her expression turned serious. "Something happened to them?"
"They had a fight with the people from the Bloody Horns."
"People from the Bloody Horns? Hmph, how dare Brook touch my distinguished guests! Hank, go ask a few men and bring Brook before me."
"That…" Hank was a little hesitant. Although Serena was oblivious the true identity of the two guests, how would Hank be unaware? It would be the problem of the Bloody Horns to offend them.
How would they need the help from the Silver Hand?
"Captain Serena, it's not that. Listen to me…" Aragon drew a few more breaths before recounting what happened on the Fire Plume Ridge.
"You mean that Mr. Sean defeated Sandro?" Serena asked in shock. She knew that Sandro was the backbone of the Bloody Horns. Without the Gryphon, she'd have to use a lot strength to defeat him.
But now, he had been defeated by a warrior she had not even heard of…
"There's another thing…" Aragon hesitated, and continued with much uncertainty, "Captain Serena, I suspect that Mr. Felic might be an Expert Miner."
"You must be kidding!" Serena exclaimed in astonishment.
There were thousands of people under the Silver Hand Mercenary Corps. Among them, at least one-third had the knowledge of minerals. However, not a single one could reach the Expert-level.
Oh, yes. Just that afternoon, Mr. Felic told her that he wanted to go search for ores and herbs. However, it should not be that crazy, right?
Expert Miners were highly sought after by huge and influential corporations. Even Serena knew of a powerful figure who had been wanting to collect rare ores, but to no avail…
"Aragon, are you sure?"
"I'm not very certain about it…" Aragon hesitated before reaching into his pocket for a piece of dark-red ore that was the size of a thumb.
"I took this back secretly. When I rushed there, Mr. Felic had heaps of ore like this with him. Captain Serena, why don't you find someone to verify the identity of this ore?"
"Sure, I shall do that."
Hank was the calmest person among the three people in the tent.
He had cultivated a huge mental and emotional capacity from meeting countless freakish people like Lin Li. After several encounters like that, he gradually became numb. As long as it was something that he experienced, even if it was an unusual matter, it would never be incomprehensible.
Chapter 182 - Flash and Darkness Decimator
When Serena was about to leave the tent, she suddenly thought of something. Turning back, she asked Aragon to come over. "Aragon, help me with something."
"What is it?"
"Go and ask those people from the Bloody Horns about what happened on the Fire Plume Ridge. Use whatever methods necessary to get them to reveal everything. If they successfully hide anything… you know the consequences."
"…" Aragon's face darkened.
Isn't she hinting me to extort a confession from them using tortures?
However, that was exactly what he wanted; he had something against Sandro.
"And you, Hank." After giving Aragon instructions, Serena called Hank over. "You stay in the camp. If people from the Bloody Horns were to come, keep them here until I return."
"Yes, Captain Serena."
A few lines were all it took for Serena to finish giving her orders. Then, she left the camp with that piece of ore.
…
It was dusk when Hank saw Serena again after an hour.
The first thing she did was to call for Aragon.
"Aragon, did you manage to find out anything?"
"Yes, Captain Serena. They told me everything."
"Continue," Serena said as she nodded her head.
"It was actually a coincidence…" Aragon started to tell her what he'd learned in that hour.
It was like what he started off with. The entire matter was a coincidence.
If the people from the Bloody Horns had not told him, even Lin Li, who was on the Fire Plume Ridge, would also not have thought of how coincidental the timing of the matter was…
From the start, Sandro and his team were ordered to go to the Fire Plume Ridge as their first mission. However, when they passed by that forest, they accidentally discovered the mineral veins of the Abyss Fiendish Iron.
"This Sandro was a miner in the past," Aragon added.
Of course, Sandro was not knowledgeable enough to decipher what type of mineral vein it was.
But the coincidence was that he had heard that there was a magical metal with a mineral vein that would turn the ore and the surrounding soil dark-red in color.
As an adventurer, the idea of a mineral vein of any magic metal was naturally a big temptation for Sandro because it meant huge fortune he could gain from it. With all that wealth, he would be able to retire from being an adventurer, and live a luxurious life peacefully.
On top of that…
Lin Li and Sean seemed so frail and weak previously.
"Actually, it was rather unfair for that dude. During the interrogation, he was so indignant when he complained to me. What he thought to be pushovers turned into two powerful opponents. It was as though he kicked iron plates instead of soft persimmons…" The mention of Sandro's realization made Aragon feel like laughing.
Hank rolled his eyes beside him. What was there to be surprised about? Sandro was not the only hapless man he knew of that kicked these iron plates.
Not to mention the group of robbers from Blackhills Town that was killed by Sean, there was Thuzadin with the lousiest luck, who thought that he could send everyone in the inn to their deaths, but got shot dead by Mr. Felic. He probably still was not able to figure out why a crossbow could suddenly appear from the crowd…
Of course, Hank would not dare to tell them these. It was nothing for him to be reprimanded by Serena for keeping such secrets. The real trouble would start if he were to offend that man. If he knew that it was him who divulged the matter, how would Hank be able to escape the fate of being skewered by his Icicle?
Therefore, Hank only listened to their conversation at the side silently.
"Before I forget…" Aragon said as something came to his mind. He said hesitantly, "
There's a thing I feel we should take note of."
"What is it?"
"Sandro said when Mr. Felic fought with his two teammates; instead of fighting them personally, he detonated some kind of firearm."
"Detonation?" Serena froze in surprise, and said, "You meant… Explosive Mining?"
"I'm suspecting that…" The expression of Aragon showed amazement too.
Many people knew the existence of a skill like Explosive Mining, but few dared to use it. The reason was very simple—Explosive Mining was too difficult to master. It would only take a small mistake to destroy both the mine and lives. Even an Expert Miner would not want to risk attempting such a dangerous skill.
At that moment, the two people could not help but be in a daze.
Although they had been suspecting Mr. Felic to be an Expert Miner right from the start, when they related him to Explosive Mining, they were awestruck. That was really a crazy thing. In the whole of Felan Kingdom, the number of people who knew how to use Explosive Mining to mine would not exceed a hundred. Among them, at least 90 had been drawn over by large organizations.
The Marathon Family, which rose to its status back then due to their business in forging, was one such organization. It successfully gathered more than half of these people under its name.
Hence, there would be fewer than 10 Expert Miners who weren't affiliated with any organization…
People with such a talent were highly sought-after ones.
Explosive Mining could increase the efficiency of any mining activity by one fold.
The Dwarf Kingdom, which was located at the North of the Sunset Mountains, only had a few hundreds of thousands people. However, it was able to form a country by itself in the chaotic world of Anril. That was thanks to their forte, which was forging, as well as mastery of mining techniques.
Among the different mining techniques, they were especially known for their Explosive Mining.
It was just because the Dwarf Kingdom had a goblin working for them.
Goblins had a flair in creating weapons. Their knowledge in explosive techniques peaked among the entire Anril. The weapons they produced were so powerful that they could be compared to the spells of magic shooters.
It was said that during the Dark Age, the goblins created a type of weapon that could easily penetrate the shields of archmages with fire from their metal tubes. Unfortunately, that skill set vanished after the era. Hence, the goblins could only seek refuge in the Dwarf Kingdom.
On top of the innate talent of the dwarfs in forging and mining, the Explosive Mining technique from the goblins made the Dwarf Kingdom a stronger entity. Although the population of the kingdom was rather small, they got to be protected in the world of Anril, and also reaped benefits from all the wars that happened. Gradually, they had grown to have the shadow of the descendants of the Titans.
Hence, it was obvious how an Expert Miner who had the knowledge of the Explosive Mining technique would be so high in demand…
Deep in thought, Serena nodded her head as she commented, "Seems that we are really not wrong. I'm afraid this Mr. Felic might really be an Expert Miner." Then, she reached into her pocket for the Abyss Fiendish Iron and fiddled with it in her hands.
"Oh, right. Captain Serena, have you identified this ore?"
"Yes. This ore is called the Abyss Fiendish Iron. If it were to be added into a weapon, it would increase the weight of the weapon by multiple times. That old Al'Akir said that it is considered one of the rarest ores."
"Even Mr. Al'Akir came?" Aragon froze when he heard the name. Al'Akir was the leader of Adventurers Guild—the person in charge of all the Adventurers in the entire Felan Kingdom! Apart from Aldwin, the leader of the Guild of Magic, no one would be comparable to him for his level-21 abilities.
As an adventurer himself, how would Aragon not hear of Al'Akir?
In reality, Al'Akir's story was the inspiration for most people to take up this occupation in Felan Kingdom.
For almost all adventurers, Al'Akir had only been a legendary character that they'd heard of. However, now that this legendary man was so close to them, even Aragon could not help but show signs of excitement.
"But he is extremely lively too…" Serena muttered as she minced her lips. Then, she said in a serious tone, "That old man also said that he hopes to meet that fella if given the chance. So Aragon, we need to grab onto this opportunity… "
"Understood," replied Aragon as he nodded.
Serena's words were more than clear.
It was not easy to meet any Expert Miner, especially one who knew about the Explosive Mining and who was not bound to any organization.
How would anyone reject a partnership with him? When Al'Akir expressed his hopes about wanting to meet Lin Li, his motive was clear…
To be honest, the Silver Hand had zero edge over the huge Adventurers Guild. Whether it was in terms of finances, resources, manpower, military might, intelligence, or emotional capacity… to want to win heart of the miner who had the Explosive Mining skills would be like a dream.
The only advantage the Silver Hand had was only the fact that they'd met Mr. Felic before the Adventurers Guild did…
And that was also their only chance.
If they could rope Mr. Felic into the Silver Hand before the Adventurers Guild, Al'Akir would not be able to snatch him away!
"Captain Serena, what should I do?"
"Very easy. You just need to give in to whatever request Mr. Felic makes starting from today. Remember, don't question him."
"Noted, Captain Serena."
…
At the same time, Lin Li was still venturing into the cave. He was completely unaware that he had already shocked both a captain and a guild president by his casual act of bombing the mineral vein.
He'd had no choice, either.
Who asked him to have met mostly mages, and not miners in the few months since he'd entered the world of Anril? And how would he have known that Explosive Mining—an ancient and unsophisticated skill—would have such a high standing here?
Furthermore…
Even if he knew, Explosive Mining was the technique that was the simplest and most straightforward to him. Why should he restrict himself from using such a technique just because he needed to take care of the feelings of one captain and one guild president?
It did not make sense for him to adopt the most primitive method of using a metal shovel to dig for ore…
If he were to know the truth, he would probably holler, "I'm a very busy man, and I have no time to care about your feelings!"
That was right, he was indeed busy.
Ever since he'd entered the cave, he had been very busy cursing. He had been cursing the people who'd created the map.
"Goddammit, this is outrageous…" Lin Li's rage grew as he thought about it. Wasn't the cave as complicated as a spider's web? How can one simple green line on the map tell me how to navigate?
Lin Li had felt a sense of foreboding the moment he stepped into the cave. The wide network of pathways inside the cave was like a spider's web. Just looking at all the pathways made Lin Li feel very dizzy. How could he even identify directions?
After bringing Sean to walk around for many rounds, Lin Li could not even remember where he came from. This made him really feel like crying.
Damn it!
He had already wasted a few hours inside of the cave. If that were to continue, it would be midnight if he was able to walk out of the cave.
They were at the Fire Plume Ridge, where all powerful magical beasts roamed freely. One already had to be extremely careful of them in broad daylight, not to mention in the night. If Lin Li were to meet beasts that they could not defeat, or miss a step and fall into a ravine like Sean, wouldn't there be big trouble?
"I will think of a way…" Lin Li vowed angrily through his clenched teeth as they moved around the cave. They should not be getting themselves lost again!
"Mr. Felic…" After following Lin Li another round of th
e same place, Sean could not contain himself further. He reminded meekly, "I think we passed by here before…"
"…" Lin Li really felt like killing himself after hearing those words. He had been a hunter famous for his bad sense of direction in the Endless World. If not for his wealth that allowed him to purchase the Guide Light from the unscrupulous merchant, he would have died. How would he have the opportunity to acquire the Stars of Fury to kill the Dragon of Destruction?
Although he was in Anril, his sense of direction was still as poor as before. Without the Guide Light with him, how was he going to walk out of that horrible cave?
"Mr. Felic…" Just when Lin Li was filled with frustration, Sean called out to him…
"What is it again…?" Lin Li was still thinking of crashing into the wall. When he heard Sean's voice, he immediately thought that something more terrible happened. While replying, his expression was uglier than crying.
"I think there's someone…"
"Huh?" Lin Li exclaimed, and instantly became more alert.
"There's someone?"
"Yes, and he's walking towards us…"
Then, Lin Li heard footsteps too. He immediately let out Warlock's Eyes.
"Indeed…" Lin Li gasped. After all, he was a level-13 Magical Shooter. Hence, he was much clearer than Sean in terms of making out the movements in his surroundings.
Through the Warlock's Eyes, Lin Li could clearly see there was really a figure walking towards them.
That person looked around 30 years old. He had a brand-new armor, and carried two axes on his back. In the dark and eerie cave, the weapons emitted a dull blue. Lin Li only need one glimpse to know they were quality magical weapons. From the delicate craftsmanship, Lin Li could tell that the creator had Master-Level qualifications…
This man had a distinct appearance too. He would not lose out to Sean in terms of his big and tall build. Due to his age, he even looked bolder than Sean. His messy golden hair and big beard that resembled steel needles on top of his hearty expression gave people an impression of a dignified and dauntless man.